1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a method for manufacturing a photovoltaic device and, more particularly to a manufacturing method of a flexible photovoltaic device using amorphous semiconductor.
2. Description of Related Art
A particular attention has been paid to the fact that a photovoltaic device using amorphous semiconductor, e.g., amorphous silicon or the like is manufactured at low cost. Since such a photovoltaic device as above is easily formed thin, flexibility is required as well.
Two kinds of structures are known for the photovoltaic device of a flexible type. One is achieved, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-105581 (105581/1989), by lamination of a first resin layer with light-transmitting property, insulating property and flexibility, a photo-electric converting element consisting of a transparent electrode layer, a thin-film semiconductor layer and a back electrode layer, and a second resin layer with insulating property and flexibility, in this order. The photovoltaic device in the aforementioned structure will be referred to as an ordinary type hereinafter. The other one is obtained by lamination of a first resin layer with insulative property and flexibility, a photo-electric converting element consisting of a back electrode layer, a thin-film semiconductor layer and a transparent electrode layer, and a second resin layer with light-transmitting property, insulative property and flexibility in this order, as unveiled in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 63-10590 (10590/1988), which will be referred to as an inverse type hereinbelow. The light is allowed to be incident upon the photovoltaic device of the ordinary type from the side of the first resin layer, while it is arranged to enter from the side of the second resin layer according to the photovoltaic device of the inverse type.
Any type of the photovoltaic device is remarkably thin and accordingly easy to be cut by mechanical means. Therefore, if it is made possible to manufacture a plurality of photovoltaic devices at one time from one sheet of a photovoltaic device of a large area by cutting the sheet into a desired size and a desired shape, simplification of a production line is realized, with the using efficiency of the material being improved.
However, when the flexible photovoltaic device with the above-described structure is mechanically cut, the section of the cut photovoltaic device is undesirably bent or curved upward or downward, thereby causing a dangerous short circuit between the transparent electrode layer and back electrode layer at the section. If such an electric short circuit as above occurs, the output characteristic of the cut photovoltaic device is considerably decreased.